Castle Drabbles
by Blue Bananana
Summary: These are drabbles that were born from my personal challenge to write one drabble per day for as long as possible. Mostly Ryan/Esposito friendship, but you could read it as slash if you wanted. T for multiple near death experiences. and weapons
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. Hey, Guys! So, I have set myself to a challenge: 1 drabble per day for the Castle fandom. I started this a week ago and have 7 quick drabbles for you to read. I have the next chapter of Human Psychology 101 ready, so hopefully that will be up later today and I'm working on A Missing Detail. Slooowly. But, it's summer, so I might as well take advantage of my time. Most of these will be Salt & Peppa. You can read them as slash if you want, but I know that both Seamus and Jon are not fans of a slash pairing and some people do get offended. These are written to be read both ways. Here I go!**

**Meat**

Esposito could never understand why his partner was vegetarian. He could never eat a hot dog, never have a burger, never even have a steak! But Ryan chose to not eat meat, so that meant that Esposito could keep any form of meaty item in his fridge and not live in fear that one day it would disappear. It did make eating on the job difficult. If Esposito needed to eat, he could just pick up a hot dog from one of the admittedly questionable stands scattered in the city. Ryan had to carry food with him if he wanted to eat something. There aren't that many vegetarian fast food options. But that had only been a problem once. After Esposito chewed him out about eating healthily and not skipping lunch and then picking at dinner all because there was meat in the food, Ryan had learned to always have a vegetarian option on him. But Esposito could still never understand why his partner stuck to that diet. Nevertheless, it gave Esposito another thing to worry about his partner.

**Minute**

One minute is sixty seconds. Sixty seconds to jump in the bleak river and fight his own lungs. Sixty seconds to stare around the muddy water to try and spot the sinking body of his partner. Sixty seconds to slash at the ropes that tied the weight to his partner's legs. Sixty seconds to grab him and kick as hard as possible to try and bring them to the surface. Sixty seconds is a long time to not know whether your partner is ok. But sixty seconds is no time at all to save him.

**Relief**

Every time that they finished a bust or a case, both Detectives Ryan and Esposito felt a sense of relief. Sometimes it was relief that they had actually found the person. Sometimes they were relieved they could go home after a grueling case. And sometimes the relief was just that they had survived another day. It was hard to be a cop and to throw your life on the line everyday. But it was harder still to watch those who you cared about throw their lives on the line as well. Once they had caught a killer or arrested a dangerous suspect, it was nice to finally know that the other partner would make it to the next day.

**Fiction**

Ryan had always liked to read science fiction books. Time travel, futuristic society, all that sort of stuff. He had read some of Castle's books, but never any seriously. What homicide detective, other than Kate Beckett, wanted to go home and read about murder? But he did often wonder why some people did what they did to others. So he had read some of the books, just out of curiosity. He had, of course, read Heat Wave as soon as it hit shelves, but he only had a few other Castle books on his one book shelf. Esposito was almost the same way, but he never liked science fiction. He preferred the sports novels. He and Ryan would have debates all the time over which was better. But they both agreed: Murder mysteries should be approached with caution.

**Chemical**

Esposito hated science. He didn't see the point in learning about concepts of physics or chemistry or biology in school because he didn't think he'd need them in real life. Ryan, though, had always loved science. He had had little chemistry sets as a kid, blowing things up. He had minored in chemistry in college. But neither of them expected for him to have to put his skills to use. Poison. And with only a few clues, Ryan had mere hours to figure out the poison used. He read through his clues again, and began to scribble furiously on the paper. Esposito didn't even try to figure out what Ryan was doing. Eventually, Ryan emerged from his trance and bolted to get the antidote from Lanie. Thank God for chemistry.

**Behavior**

Over the years, Ryan and Esposito had got used to each other's unique habits. Every cop had them. Little superstitions that they needed to do in order to keep their sanity. They both knew that Beckett always had to keep the cap of the murder board pen on the end of the pen, or else she wouldn't be able to think. Captain Montgomery always cleaned his badge clockwise. Ryan always needed to check the locks on each of his drawers when he came into work, and then again when he left. Esposito had always rolled his neck counterclockwise before entering a battle in the military. Now, as a cop, he rolled his neck before a bust. It was something that you only really accepted that your partner knew about. That's why Ryan knew about Esposito's neck, and Esposito knew about Ryan's drawers.

**Intelligence**

Being a cop didn't require off the chart SAT scores or an unbelievable IQ. It required street smarts, not book smarts. And as street smart people go, Ryan and Esposito were certainly up there. But in book smarts, neither had been top of their class. In one case, they dealt with a young teenager, around 13, who could outsmart both of them without any hesitation. It was at that point that they decided to bring in the big guns: Castle. The author was one of the brighter kids in his class when he was younger and would, hopefully, save the interview from being a 'Let's see how stupid I can make the cops look.' fest. When Castle sparred against her mind, he kept up much better. While admittedly he lost the mental battle, he did manage to get the information that they needed. Ryan and Esposito both felt incredibly stupid after that. Once the interview was over, she told them both not to feel bad. They both had slightly higher than average IQs. Her's was just higher.

**A.N. I hope you like it! I'll post my next seven drabbles next week. I'm going to try and keep up this drabble a day thing for as long as I can, but I don't know how long that is going to be. R&R!  
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	2. Chapter 2

**A.N. Hey, Guys! So, I have set myself to a challenge: 1 drabble per day for the Castle fandom. I started this a week ago and have 7 quick drabbles for you to read. I have the next chapter of Human Psychology 101 ready, so hopefully that will be up later today and I'm working on A Missing Detail. Slooowly. But, it's summer, so I might as well take advantage of my time. Most of these will be Salt & Peppa. You can read them as slash if you want, but I know that both Seamus and Jon are not fans of a slash pairing and some people do get offended. These are written to be read both ways. Here I go! Here's week two. If you want, you can give me prompts in the review screen and I'll try to fill them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own.  
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**Compromising**

Ryan preferred Madden. As a rule, he was able to hold off his inevitable slaughter in Madden a lot longer than in Esposito's favorite, Left 4 Dead. Esposito was a soldier, so he naturally had an instinct for the first person shoot-em-ups. Madden was one that Ryan could actually survive longer than a few minutes in. But Esposito always wanted to play Left 4 Dead, so Ryan usually ended up dying quite quickly. Eventually, Esposito caught on to Ryan's annoyance with Left 4 Dead. Game night wasn't fun if you didn't like the game. So, Esposito decided to try a new game. One not involving a first person shoot-em-up.

**Organization**

Ryan had a system. It was a way that he organized himself and kept all of the massive amounts of information that he sifted through straight. His system worked for him. His system was efficient. Esposito hated Ryan's system. If Esposito so much as moved any of Ryan's papers even an inch, he had apparently messed up Ryan's system. It was Esposito's firm belief that Ryan's system was a silly waste of time. He preferred his own system, a much less complicated and far more organized way of organizing information. Time in the military makes a man more organized. But Ryan's way was more a way of organized chaos than true organization. Yet still, Ryan insisted that his system was efficient and snapped at anyone who messed with it.

**Dose**

The scary thing was that he didn't know what was in the needle. He had no idea what the man had suddenly injected into his blood stream. Other than the fact that it made his blood turn to ice. He began to feel drowsy and dizzy. His arms flailed to try and gain purchase on the escaping man's legs, but they found none. Esposito ran past his slowly falling body, gun at the ready, trying to follow the man. But very quickly, Esposito ran back. Ryan had been dosed with something. Esposito picked him up and walked back to the car. He then sat Ryan's limp body on the front seat, and drove as fast as the roads would let him to get help.

**Weight**

Ryan weighed less than Esposito. It was just a fact. Esposito was a very muscular man, while Ryan was skinnier. They always told themselves that that was why people always automatically assumed that Ryan was not as strong as he actually was. Who would you rather take on, a Hispanic who's entire body was coated in muscle, or an Irishman who paled (No pun intended) in comparison. Each of them held their weight as a point of pride. Ryan was glad that he didn't have any excess fat, while Esposito was glad that he had excess muscle. The two of them complimented each other.

**ID**

Neither Ryan nor Esposito ever really got carded anymore. They were cops. They went to cop bars. People knew them in cop bars. It was on the rare occasion that they didn't go to a cop bar that they sometimes did get carded. Because they were good citizens, they pulled out their IDs and were served no problem. But on one night, at a place called the Oxford Score, they showed their cards and were shocked to find that the bartender didn't think that the ID was real. He made a fuss, telling them to get out, or he'd call the cops. Ryan and Esposito looked at each other and flashed their badges. That basically said that they were the cops off duty, and they had better get some drinks now. They didn't do any repeat business there.

**Scare**

It took a lot to scare Esposito. He wasn't the type to be scared at Halloween or spiders, snakes, or sharks. He was a trained officer of the law who had done military service and now worked as a Homicide detective in the NYPD. But Esposito could be scared. The only thing that scared Esposito was the thought of losing Ryan. He never talked to Ryan about Thornton, but Ryan could tell that the last thing Esposito needed was to have a repeat of that situation. But it also would kill Ryan to lose Esposito. That's what scared him. Which is why they both made for a good partnership. They watched each other's backs.

**Explanation**

Esposito was on a mission. He needed information, and he needed it now. If Ryan wasn't going to talk to him, then Esposito was going to talk to his sister's, or even his parents. But no matter what, there was no way Esposito was going to let Ryan get away with this without a full explanation. Ryan had been quiet, not wanting to talk to people, and then he had had a minor panic attack in the Gym. Esposito was going to demand an explanation about this the moment Ryan was awake. He needed to know what was going on. Otherwise, Esposito was going to continue to worry.**  
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**A.N. I hope you like it! I'll post my next seven drabbles next week. I'm going to try and keep up this drabble a day thing for as long as I can, but I don't know how long that is going to be. R&R!  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N. Hey, Guys! So, I have set myself to a challenge: 1 drabble per day for the Castle fandom. I started this a week ago and have 7 quick drabbles for you to read. I have the next chapter of Human Psychology 101 ready, so hopefully that will be up later today and I'm working on A Missing Detail. Slooowly. But, it's summer, so I might as well take advantage of my time. Most of these will be Salt & Peppa. You can read them as slash if you want, but I know that both Seamus and Jon are not fans of a slash pairing and some people do get offended. These are written to be read both ways. Here I go! Finally, Here's week three. Wow, I've been doing this for three weeks now! Fair warning, there is one story in here that is definetly slash. If you don't like it, don't read it. Enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

**Purpose**

Ryan never really knew why. He didn't understand why he was a cop. It had always just been something that he did. He would wake up every morning and do what hewas hired to do. But sometimes, when he looked at his job, he didn't know why he did it. It was obvious to him that most criminals were not deterred by law enforcement. And stopping somebody from killing again? only a few people ever would kill again. But then Ryan would go to work and see the looks on the faces of the family of the victim and he would know. His purpose was to help people recover and to punish those who did terrible things. That was why Ryan was a cop.

**Flood (Dedicated to all victims of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene)**

The hurricane was coming. Everyone knew that it when it was going to arrive, and that it would most likely hit them there in New York. It was strange to think that they would be hit by a hurricane. It wasn't like they lived in Florida, or anywhere in the south. New York was usually safe from hurricanes. Only the occasional storm that would swing to the east would even come anywhere close to New York. That's what had them so worried. No one knew how much damage would be done. They didn't want to think in worst case scenarios, but they couldn't help it. The only thing they could do was run and wait for the storm to pass and for their work to begin.

**Hate**

Both Ryan and Esposito hated the same things about each other. They hated how the other would constantly worry. They hated how the other would brush off their own injuries, but pay close attention to the other's. They hated how they thought that they could survive anything without help. They hated the way that things would happen to the other person. They both wished that the pain of the other person would come to them instead, but they hated how the other person had that wish. The partner's were brothers, and like brothers they found several things about the other that they hated.

**File**

The partner's first met when they were trying to request each other's personnel file. Neither of them wanted to end up with a bad partner, so they decided to check each other out before they met. once they both opened the other's file, the recognized the photo as the other man in the room. they looked up at each other and just started to talk. And that was the start of a beautiful friendship that overcame many hardships. Neither of them will forget that day. They both decided to return each other's files in order to learn about the other the old fashioned way: by going to a cop bar and talking to the other person

**Gradual (This one has slash. Sorry, I'm addicted. I'm surprised I've lasted this long!)**

It was a slow process. Neither of them really knew what was going on and it certainly wasn't intentional. They both just thought because they were partners, they needed to be close friends. But they always seemed to go one step further than everybody else around them. They never really knew why. But eventually, after a gradual build up, a slow run up to it, they both worked it out. And that's all it took for them to fall in love. Everyday had been a stepping stone to this. And they would keep on stepping until they reached the top. But now they would walk together.

**Badge**

For a cop, a badge was a symbol. It wasn't just a shiny emblem on a piece of leather, no, it was a big deal. The badge was what made you a cop. When Jerry Tyson, the Triple Killer, stole Ryan's badge, it was like stripping away Ryan's identity. It scarred him and it peeled at his self-esteem like sunburn. It was difficult to heal from something like that. It was because of Esposito's support that Ryan didn't fall completely apart. While there was no way for Ryan to get his original badge back at that point, somehow, Ryan knew that his new badge would be just as good as his old one.

**Rib**

It was a known fact. Being a cop was a dangerous job. None of them liked to admit it, because to say that you put yourself in the line of fire just seemed crazy. But when you got shot, the danger was real. Even when you were shot with Kevlar. At a close range, that shot could crack ribs. And, boy, did Ryan know that. It seemed strange to think that a bullet could do only that much damage. Esposito was scared beyond belief when Ryan fell from the bullet. But when it turned out to only be two cracked ribs worth of damage, Ryan was relieved. Esposito, not so much. Cracked ribs can be evil.**  
><strong>

**A.N. I hope you like it! I'll post my next seven drabbles next week. I'm going to try and keep up this drabble a day thing for as long as I can, but I don't know how long that is going to be. R&R!  
><strong>


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